You Refuse to be In Love
by thewafflemaster
Summary: Dave is the coolkid in high school. Cool people like him don't date moody, depressed outcasts. Rated T for Karkat's potty mouth.
1. Chapter 1

You Refuse to be In Love

Note: I ship Dave and Karkat so much its unhealthy. Reviews are eaten like bricks of delicious spicy tofu. ouo.

Your name is Dave Strider. THE Dave Strider. You're pretty much the coolest person. Ever. So you refuse to have any kind of romantic feelings for the depressed kid who came to the school this year. You refuse to admit that he's attractive to you in the least. It can't happen. You're too cool for that.

You first met him when he ran into you in the hall. Literally. He was zoned out and ran into you. Most people would freak out and apologize a billion times. I mean, you are THE Dave Strider. He just looked up at you (yeah- looked up- he's pretty short) and said,

"Out of the way, fuckass," pushing you aside. You were too shocked to respond. You just stood there for a minute, trying to fathom what happened, and then left for class.

You only started having romantic feelings for the kid later that day. You were kind of late to English class, so all the seats were taken except the one by him. He was asleep fifteen minutes into the class. You couldn't focus on the teacher at all because you were too busy looking at his adorable sleeping face. His eyelashes were so long, you thought they might be fake. And his lips- oh his lips were perfect. They looked like tissue paper- like if you pressed down on them, they'd stay like that even when you stopped. Yeah, you were probably blushing by the end of English just from looking at him. No one would be able to tell, though, because you hid your face behind sunglasses.

Now you sit in Math class. It's the end of the day, and you're dying to leave the stuffy classroom. Finally, the bell rings and you leave your seat. Outside, you see the boy from before and you become aware of your heartbeat. But something isn't right. He's yelling at another boy…

Thud.

The other boy's fist collides with his face. The boy you refuse to have a crush on is doubled over in pain, clutching the left side of his face. You go up to the bully.

"Hey. Violence is not appreciated by the Strider," you say. He grunts and walks off, not bothering to challenge you. You turn to the boy in pain.

"You alright?" you ask, trying to keep yourself from prying his hand from his face and looking at the damage.

"I'm fine, fuckass," he says.

"The name's Strider. Dave Strider," you say.

"Karkat fucking Vantas," he says, obviously annoyed by the fact you haven't left yet. You can't take it anymore. Everyone else has left already, so you walk up to him and push his hand away from his injury. He doesn't say anything. He just looks down.

"Damn," you say. His left eye is sunken in and surrounded completely by dark purple bruises. You then realize you're touching his face, so you pull away abruptly.

"Sorry," you say, looking off to the horizon instead of at Karkat.

"What the fuck for?" He asks, staring straight at you. You have no idea how to answer, so you don't. Instead, you pull out a piece of paper and a pen and start writing. Out of the corner of your eye, you see Karkat looking confused. You smile slightly. He's so cute when he's confused. Once you're finished, you hand him the paper.

"Call me if there's ever any trouble again," you say. You then start walking to the school parking lot. Once you start up the car, you hear 'Call Me Maybe' on the radio and laugh. Such irony.


	2. Chapter 2

You Refuse to be In Love

Chapter 2

Note: THANK YOU ALL FOR THE SPICY TOFU! I love everyone who read the last chapter and maybe posted a review. I love you. I really do.

Okay, so it's already 10:00 PM on Saturday and Karkat hasn't called you. You kind of expected that, but everyone you've given your number to so far has called you at least once. You don't know why you care anyways. It's not like you like him. At least you keep telling yourself you don't like him- at least not like that. Well, maybe you do. Only a little, though. Suddenly, your phone buzzes and you jump. _Please be Karkat please be Karkat please be Karkat, _you think. You grab your phone to see it's only a text, but you can tell it's him.

'HEY FUCKASS.' It says. You laugh to yourself, and add his number to your contacts.

'What up, babe?' you ask.

'DON'T FUCKING CALL ME THAT STRIDER.'

'Fine fine. But really what made you suddenly feel the need to contact me?' You hit send, and then wait. You wait and wait and wait. _He must be typing a paragraph or some shit,_ you think. Soon, you find he wasn't.

After five minutes, all he sends you is an address.

Within moments, you're in your car driving through the bad part of town in the dark just to reach Karkat. You sent about twenty texts to him after he sent you that address, but he didn't reply. You drive past a gang of teens smoking, and you wonder if you should really be doing all this for some kid you barley know. You stop that train of thought when you see the house you're looking for.

You walk to the door, and see that the windows are barred. You ring the doorbell. No one answers. You knock, and it swings open.

"Um, is anyone home?" you ask, stepping cautiously inside. You hear a whimpering noise from a room down the hall. You close the door behind you, and inch towards that room. You slowly turn the handle of the door to that room. It creaks when you open it, so you flinch. You flinch once more when you see the contents of the room.

In the corner, Karkat sits in fetal position rocking back and forth. His eyes are dead- just pale orbs sunken in the dark cavities of his skull. His cellphone is on the other side of the room; screen still glowing with the texts you sent him. You start to walk to him, but stops when he looks at you. Those lifeless spheres just stare right at you for a minute before he speaks.

"Sometimes, we're afraid, and we don't understand why. There is no real danger, and we know that. No one is dying or sick. We just fear irrational things. We think that we feel a million people behind us, but they aren't there. But sometimes, they are there. They're right behind you, looking at you, and you don't know why. And when you blink, they're still there. But they aren't people. But they are people. But they're not humans. They look just like us, but something is different. Something is wrong. And sometimes they won't go away. And sometimes they sing at night and look over the foot of my bed and stare down at me until I feel my lungs crushing beneath the pressure of their gaze and I cant do anything because I am weak and I am scared. I'm afraid. I'm afraid. I'm afraid."

You just stare at him for a moment. That's all your head thinks you can do. But your heart thinks differently, and right now, you assume your heart knows more than your head. You walk over to where he sits, and you sit down next to him. You put an arm around his shoulders and look him in the eye, no matter how much it scares you.

"You don't need to be afraid anymore. I'm here now," you say as softly as you can. You think you see a tiny bit of light return to his eyes before he closes them and starts crying into your arm.

You stay like that until morning.


	3. Chapter 3

You Refuse to be In Love

Chapter 3

NOTE: Wow. kept sending me e-mails about this story. IT'S ALL UR FAULT! I seriously love all y'all so much. Eeeeeeeeeeeeee thankyou. I had about a billion distractions while I was writing this chapter, so sorry if it's not the best. NOW BACK TO DA STORYY.

By the time morning light starts spilling from the windows, the boy in your arms has mostly calmed down. For the past seven hours, you've been telling yourself that he's only there because you don't want him to flip out from fear. It has nothing to do with the feelings you obviously don't have for him. Well, at least you tell yourself that.

"Are… you okay now?" You manage to ask.

"I'll… I'll never be okay," Karkat says, looking away. The air drips silence for another long moment before he speaks again.

"…Dave?"

"I thought my name was Fuckass," you say, trying to lighten the mood. It doesn't work. He just looks down, clearly thinking over what to say.

"… Thank you," He mumbles under his breath.

"Don't mention it," you say, moving to get up. He grabs your arm.

"D-don't go," he pleads, tugging your shirtsleeve. You smile softly and ruffle his hair.

"Well I was planning on making breakfast. I guess we can just starve…" Karkat releases your arm and starts moving into standing position.

"I'll… I'll help," he states, following you as you navigate your way to the kitchen. He has a surprisingly small amount of food in his house. Well, he does live in the bad part of town. You assume that means he's probably poor. _Kid probably has both parents working all day,_ you think, noticing that no one else is indoors. Of course, that doesn't make you feel uncomfortable or anything. It's not like you like him or anything. Besides, you're home alone all the time-

The sound of the toaster interrupts your thought. Toast was all you could really make with what was in Karkat's kitchen.

You sit down at the table with Karkat. He barley touches his food.

"I made this for you," you say in a funny voice, trying to imitate some guy you saw on YouTube once. That makes the boy across the table smile, if only a little. He takes a bite of toast, and you smile, too. _Score one for the Strider_. By the end of breakfast, he's back to normal. At least, he's normal enough to call you 'fuckass' again.

He's talking to you now. It's nothing serious by the way he speaks. You don't really know what he's saying, though. You're just looking at the way his lips move as he tries to talk to you. _He has such perfect lips…_ Wait. No. You're not thinking that. That would be creepy. Okay, maybe he does have nice lips. But it's not like you want to kiss him. Do you want to kiss him? You don't even-

"GOD DAMNIT DAVE DO YOU EVEN HEAR ME?" You jump from your seat in confusion and surprise.

"Er, sorry," you say, laughing awkwardly and sitting back down. You see he's blushing and turned away from you, and you start to wonder if you should've paid attention. Still, he starts talking again, but you just can't focus. You simply stare straight at his soft pink lips. Before you know what you're doing, you're leaning across the table. At first, you think it's because you want to see those lips more closely. Then you notice your eyes are closed. Why would you close your eyes? Nothing makes much sense anymore. You just stay confused like that until the moment before your lips touch his.

_Oh that's right. I'm kissing him. _Now everything is clear to you. This boy, Karkat Vantas, is somewhat attractive to you (no matter how much you deny it). So you decide to kiss him. That's all.

His lips are soft and warm against yours. You don't try to move your tongue between them. You're afraid that Karkat doesn't like you enough for that. Right now, you're afraid of a lot of things. What if he doesn't like you at all? What if he hates you? What if he's heterosexual? You think you're an idiot for doing this. _Really Strider, what's wrong with you?_ You pull away from the boy and sit back down. Even though you've turned to look at the wall, you can see him blushing a bright red from the corner of your eye.

"W-what was that?" He tries to ask, stuttering.

"A kiss," you say, trying to sound cool. You ARE the coolkid, after all. You should be able to kiss whoever you want. Even if it is some social outcast with hallucinations.

"W-w-why?" He manages to ask.

"Because," you say.

"I think I might love you,"


	4. Chapter 4

You Refuse to be In Love

Chapter 4

NOTE: Everyone who reads this story is fabulous and I love you. Reviews are eaten. I apologize for how short this chapter is. Sometimes, chapters just end up with height problems. BUT ANYWAYS, THANKYOUUU FOR READINGGG~

Okay. Okay. It's all okay, Strider. Get yourself together. It's noon on Sunday morning, and you're just sitting in your car trying to figure out _what on Earth just happened. _So you were at Karkat's house. The kid was freaking out. Then he stopped freaking out. Then you… You kissed him and said you loved him. Then you just… left. You bolted. You just knew he'd hate you and never want to see you again. You knew this. You knew this. You kissed him anyways. And so you… you ran away like the coward you are.

Now you decide you've spent enough time waiting in the driveway, so you get out of your car. Your steps are irregular as you attempt to walk up the brick drive to the stained glass double-doors that lead into your home. You're not used to the gold-trimmed windows of your own house, since you spent so much time at Karkat's place. You fiddle with your key before unlocking the door. It swings open, and you can't help but notice how lonely you are. Well, it's not like you usually had people at your house. Still, it is just so big and empty, as it always has been.

You toss your keys onto the sofa and head to the cellar. The cellar is where you like to be when bad things happen. You grab three random bottles and sit on the floor. You grab the first bottle.

As you look down into the bottom of the bottle, you remember the first time you drank. It was the night of your parents' funeral. Your brother dragged you into the cellar and handed you a bottle that you swear looked just like the one you're holding now. He had one, too. You remember seeing him tilt his head back as he drank the entire contents of the bottle in less than a minute. You tried to do the same, but just ended up coughing at the bad taste and stinging in your throat.

"Just swallow," he had said. After he left, he tried to visit a friend. His car collided with another just fifteen minutes after you saw him last.

Now, you stare down at the bottle in your hand. You do this too often, but no matter how many times you come down to the cellar, you still feel compelled to say those words.

"Just swallow it," you say, closing your eyes and pressing your lips to the glass.


	5. Chapter 5

You Refuse to be In Love

Chapter 5

NOTE: uhhhh it's already 8:30 and I haven't written anything today yet WHATS WRONG WITH ME? But anyways, I will eat all of the reviews because my family hasn't been making me food lately. Ah who am I kidding no matter how full I am, I'll still eat reviews. I THANK ALL OF YOU FOR THE FOOD. And now it's story time with waffle~

The first thing you notice when you wake is the cold floor pressed against your face. You then see your sunglasses on a few feet away from you, so you reach for them and place them back on the bridge of your nose. You use your arms to push yourself into sitting position. You have a splitting headache, but it's Monday and you're probably late for school. Now you're looking at the three bottles on the floor around you. You pick one up, feeling the smooth glass on your fingertips. Your hand grasps the bottle so tightly that your knuckles turn white. You sit like this until you can't take it anymore.

"GOD FUCKING DAMNIT!" you yell, throwing your arm forward and letting your hand go limp. A splitting sound is heard and a piece of flying glass singes your ear. You should get up. You should clean up this mess. You should change and go to school and get on with your life. But you don't. Not yet. For now, you just sit and let the tears fall.

After a few hours of anger and tears, you decide that regretting the past all day will get you nowhere. You still can't bring yourself to clean the cellar, so you just go upstairs and change your clothes before heading off to school.

By the time you arrive, it's already lunch. You're not hungry, so you decide to go to the library. You don't actually read anything. You just sit. Time passes slowly until you hear a voice behind you.

"Dave you fuckass I've been looking for you all day." You put your head on the table. You definitely do not want to talk to Karkat after what happened. Then, something unexpected happens. You feel a hand on your shoulder.

"You know, you didn't have to leave my house like that. I wouldn't have minded if you stayed," said Karkat in a soft voice you've never heard him use before. You look up to see that he's not frowning like usual, but not exactly smiling either. You really have no idea how to handle this situation like a cool person. In the end, you just give up on being cool.

"I'm sorry," you say, avoiding eye contact with the boy. He doesn't say he accepts your apology, but by the look in his eyes, you assume he does.

"Dave," he says, oddly distracted.

"What?" you ask.

"You smell like alcohol," he says. You flinch.

"Yeah," you say. The bell rings and you leave without looking at Karkat. You just hurry to your next class and wait out the rest of the day.

By the end of the day, you're so tired you think you might die. Your head is still spinning with thoughts and anger at yourself when Karkat tries to talk to you again.

"Dave-" he starts to speak. You cut him off.

"Please. Just leave me alone. Pretend nothing happened. I know I fucked up-" this time, he silences you by pressing his lips against yours. He grabs your arms, and then pulls away.

"Dave. Shut the fuck up and listen to me. I'm not going to act like nothing happened, because something _did _happen. And I… I've thought a lot about it… and… I think that… I might love you, too," he says, staring at you through your sunglasses. _Well shit, _you think. Your face is heating up, and when you try to talk, you can't. In all your years of being a stylish and popular romantic, you've never felt like this. So, despite your experience, you have no idea how to handle your current situation.

"Good," you manage to say, before you pull Karkat in for another kiss.


	6. Chapter 6

You Refuse to be In Love

Chapter 6

NOTE: Hello children, Momma Waffle is here. I thank you all for the e-mails from . I would get no e-mails otherwise. Like really, y'all make me feel like I'm actually social enough to get e-mails. Thank you.

You wake up from a deep sleep. You notice your face is buried in a black mass of messy hair. _Wait what._ Yes Dave, the hair belongs to Karkat. You almost jump, but you don't want to wake him, so you don't. You do, however, move your hand from his waist as you try to recall what happened.

It was around midnight when you heard your phone ringing. You saw that it was Karkat's number, but the voice on the end of the line was female.

"I- I- I- I don't know… I don't know what to do! I just got back from work and then I saw him and I- I- I- don't-"

"Don't worry. I'll be there soon," you said, getting up from your bed and putting on a shirt. You then ran to your car and drove past the speed limit to the Vantas' house. The door was unlocked, so you swung it open and ran to Karkat's room. He was sitting in the corner, rocking back and forth, with his eyes wide and unblinking. A middle-aged woman with his same features stood by him, clutching his phone. She turned to look at you.

"W-what do I do? I just… You were the only number on his phone… I- I-"

"You've done all you could," you said.

"I'll take care of it," you added. She just stood there for a moment before leaving the room. You walked over to Karkat and lifted him up. He was lighter than you predicted. You set him down on his bed, and then you sat by him, petting his hair.

"Shhhhh, I'm here. It's me, Dave. Nothing bad will happen. Shhhhhh," you said as you stroked each strand of thick, black hair. Eventually, the boy fell asleep. You pulled yourself closer to him. The last thing you saw before you drowned in sleep was the pair of dark eyes belonging to the woman in the doorway.

Now you're in bed with the still-sleeping boy. The woman is no longer in the doorway. Karkat moves and you can hear him yawn.

"Mornin," you say quietly, as not to startle him. He jumps anyways.

"D-Dave?" he asks nervously.

"That's me," you say.

"Why are you in my bed?" he asks. You laugh.

"Because we had sex," you say sarcastically.

"Dave! Fuck you!" He yelled, getting up and throwing a pillow at your face. You grab it and throw it back with so much force it knocks him down.

"Ha! Victory!" You exclaim. Karkat stands, and so do you.

"Really Dave, what happened," he asks, looking you in the eye.

"You were… Afraid," you say, looking away. He doesn't respond. As if intending to clear the air, the woman enters.

"If you'd like, I made breakfast," she says.

"Thanks," you say, walking into the kitchen. Karkat is close behind you.

The woman hands you a plate piled with eggs and toast.

"I'm… Mrs. Vantas," she says.

"Dave Strider," you say. She laughs.

"On Karkles' phone, your name is 'fuckass,'" she says. With a grin, you turn to Karkat, who also has a plate of food.

"Karkles?"

"Shut the fuck up," he says. For a brief moment, you wonder what life would be like if you woke up next to Karkat every morning. _That would never happen,_ you tell yourself. Still, you can dream. And you do.


	7. Chapter 7

You Refuse to be In Love

Chapter 7

NOTE: I'm so sorry I haven't updated this in forever. You know how life is sometimes. Anyways, thank ya'll so much for reading!

It's been a while since Karkat was last seen at school. Three weeks, maybe. You tried calling him, but he never answers. You also sent about a billion texts, so you're guessing he now thinks you're a clingy creep. You're also guessing a lot of things; you've always been the kind to assume worst-case scenarios. _Maybe he's dead, _you think, but you quickly decide that thought is better off not in your head, so you ignore it.

A few days ago, you visited Karkat's house. You could hear voices from inside, but no one answered the door, so you eventually left. Now, you've decided to try and visit again.

Once you arrive, you knock at the door once. No answer. You knock again. No answer. You walk around the house and see that all of the curtains in the windows are closed. However, you are able to see through a small opening in one window. You jump at the sight. There, looking at you though the opening in the window, is Mrs. Vantas.

"Hey!" you shout, but she quickly pulls the curtains shut and runs away into the depths of her house. You walk back around to the door, and then you knock once more. This time, Mrs. Vantas opens the door just enough so that you can see her eyes.

"What do you want?" she asks in a hoarse voice.

"What happened to Karkat?" you ask, grabbing the door so that she can't shut it. Instead of answering you, Mrs. Vantas opens the door wider and beckons you inside. Just after you step onto the carpet, she shuts the door and locks it.

"You can't see him right now. He's… speaking with someone," she says, voice shaking with each word. You ignore her and walk straight into Karkat's room.

A woman is sitting on the floor of Karkat's room. Karkat is sitting across from her. The woman turns to you as you enter. Karkat does not.

"Who the hell are you?" You ask the woman. She does not stand.

"Rose Lalonde. Exorcist," she says, ignoring your tone of voice and handing you a business card. You don't take it.

"God damnit, why would you think this kid needs an exorcist?" you yell. You usually aren't this angry. You're usually calm and cool. Not now.

"Dave, it's… fine," Karkat says, looking at the floor. You want to yell at him, too. You want to say that it's not fine and he should have shown up at school or at least called you, but you say nothing. Lalonde takes the hint that she's not appreciated at the moment, so she stands and exits the room. Now you and Karkat are alone.

You sit on the floor where Ms. Lalonde was previously, and you lean in close to Karkat's face. He looks even worse than he does when you see him at night. His eyes are barely open, like he's too tired to even see. His hair is a disheveled mess and you can safely assume he hasn't eaten much since you saw him last. There's a lot you want to say. There are a lot of feelings built up inside you that you need to let out. You're angry and sad and confused, but mostly, you're just happy to see Karkat again. You haven't seen him in so long, and you missed him so much. All of your feelings overwhelm you, and you don't know what to do, so you just lean in closer and closer. Your lips meet his forehead, and you find yourself whispering apologies into his hair. You apologize for a lot of things. For not being there the past weeks. For getting mad at the situation. For being a douche sometimes. You find just about a thousand things to apologize for. Karkat says nothing. He just closes his eyes and listens to your soft voice.


	8. Chapter 8

You Refuse to be In Love

Chapter 8

NOTE: eee im so happy people read this. Sorry for the wait! Reviews are appreciated. Also sorry for the cray stuff that happened last chapter. Heheheheh I have eeeeeviiiiiil plans for this story :3

Enjoy~

You don't really know how much time has passed, but by the time Mrs. Vantas enters the room, the boy in your arms is fast asleep. The woman's eyes are bloodshot, and you can see the lines in her face pulling in a way that shows her disapproval. She gestures for you to exit, so you lift up Karkat and carry him to his bed before leaving the room. You follow Mrs. Vantas into the kitchen and she collapses into a chair.

"Sit," she says with a tired sigh. You comply. You're not even that angry anymore. You don't feel much at all.

"Why the hell did you hire an exorcist?" You ask, looking across the table at nothing specific. Mrs. Vantas just sits silently for a minute.

"I've… Tried everything. Nothing helps…"

"How about a real psychologist?"

"… We don't have enough money for that…" Now you stare directly at her. If it weren't for your sunglasses, she would be feeling the coldest gaze of her life.

"You could have asked me for help. You could have at least told my why the fuck he wasn't at school." You look away, now staring at a crack in the floor. You hear weeping, and don't know what to do. Mrs. Vantas is sobbing into her palms and you can do nothing.

"…Sorry," you say, still looking away. You think you hear her tears subside after the passing of a minute. You dare to glance up at Mrs. Vantas' face. She's looking down now, analyzing the anomalies in the wood of the table.

"We… we're losing our home," she says.

"What?" You are surprised by the sudden change.

"…Couldn't pay the bills. We've got to be out by noon tomorrow." You just stare at her now, mouth agape. She looks up from the table and meets your eyes behind your shades. You no longer see the red veins in her eyes. All you see is the glimmer of hope just beyond her pupils. She doesn't even need speak.

"Then you and Karkat are always welcome at the Strider house," you smile, more warmly than you thought possible with the sadness in the air, and Mrs. Vantas smiles back.

You hear stumbling footsteps following the creak of a door, and Karkat walks into the room. The look on his face when he sees you two smiling is priceless. Even though he's slouched and rubbing one eye, his other eye is wide open and his lips are pulled into a shape not unlike a quick inhale of breath. You look directly at him, and your smile widens.

"It's all going to be okay. Trust me," you say, laughter a bass line beneath your words. Then Karkat smiles, too. And you're all just smiling together, waiting for the bad times to pass.


	9. Chapter 9

You Refuse to be In Love

Chapter 9

NOTE: Welp time for another chapter. I wasn't all too motivated to write, but then I read all the reviews for this fac and they made me smile Thank for reading!

It has been two days since the Vantases have moved in with you. They both have rooms down the hall from yours. Still, Mrs. Vantas is rarely around, as she works 20 hours a day. You wonder why. You've got enough money to take care of them for three lifetimes, but they insist their stay is only temporary.

In those two days, Karkat has not once slipped into his strange insane state of mind. He'll never understand how grateful you are for that. No matter how much fun it is to stay up all night comforting some crazy kid in fetal position, you need your beauty sleep. And a lot of it. It's Monday morning and if it weren't for your precious sunglasses, people would think you were a raccoon with those dark circles under your eyes.

You leave your bathroom and walk to the kitchen. You pause before Karkat's room. It's already 6:30 and he's not shown any sign of life yet. You decide to turn the golden doorknob and let the door slowly swing open. He's tangled in the embroidered blankets, eyes shut closed. You smirk as you walk over to him. There are a thousand ways to prank him when he's like this. You could draw on his face or put his hand in a glass of warm water. But you don't. Instead, you lean over close to his face and shake his shoulder lightly.

"Karkles. Wake up. Hey. Wake up. It's Monday. School. Rise, my child. Get up. Get up," well, you could have come up with a more charming good morning, but nah, who wants to do that? Karkat only twitches slightly, so you move away from his face.

"Hey. I'm not waking you up with a kiss. You're nowhere near pretty enough to be sleeping beauty. Get up." Now you're pulling the blankets of f him, and he's mumbling complaints. Once you've got a blob of blankets, and Karkat's curled up in a shivering ball, you speak again.

"Duuuuuuuuuuuude. School. It's a thing we have to go to. It's 6:30. Get up." You try not to stare. He's wearing nothing but a pair of grey boxers. The boy blinks his eyes open.

"6:30?" He asks, twitching and rubbing his eyes.

"Yeah. 6:30," you say, crossing your arms and dropping the ball of blankets.

"Shit!" Karkat springs from the matress and rushes to get clothes from the drawers across the room. You watch him pull a black sweater over his bare chest. Something in your ribcage makes you want to stay and watch him more, but you know that is creepy and you don't want to make him think you like him in a creepy way even though you kind of maybe do so you abscond before you can see him put on pants.

A few minutes pass and you're speeding down the street with a guy you may or may not be very attracted to next to you. You reach the light before the school.

"… People will talk if you keep giving me rides around everywhere," Karkat says, looking out the window at the students walking to their classes.

"I'm not letting you walk four miles in the morning just to get to school," you say, keeping your gaze on the road.

"But… you wouldn't want to ruin your 'coolkid reputation,'" he says. The light changes, and you press your foot to the gas again.

"Let them say what they want. I care more about you than I care about some shitty gossip." You see from the corner of your eye, Karkat is blushing a light pink color. He nods, and you pull into the school together.


End file.
